NEHAWKA, Neb., Oct. 25 (UPI) — Burning embers in a fireplace are the likely cause of a blaze that destroyed a house and killed a couple and their four children last week, fire officials say.
Mike and Michelle Speer, and their four children, died in a house fire that left only the fireplace after possibly improperly putting out a fire in the fireplace.
While investigators say embers of ash from the fireplace started the fire, it is most likely that smoke inhalation actually killed them, based on early autopsy reports.
“What may have happened — this is pure speculation — is if there was a fire in the fireplace, as the fire marshal’s saying, and it got out of the fire box and into the walls, it went up, probably went into the attic and was over the top of them before they even knew it,” said Bellevue Fire Department Battalion Chief Steve Wagner.
Officials said the fire started sometime after midnight when ash or embers in the fireplace set the carpet and furnishings in the living room on fire, allowing the flames to travel through the house.
Although the fire was reported by a neighbor, the walls and roof of the structure collapsed before firefighters arrived. While witnesses told fire officials there were smoke detectors in the house, the six family members may not have heard them as they were found deceased in their beds after the blaze was put out.
Capt. Chad Jeffers, of the nearby Papillon Fire Department, one of several that responded to the fire, said a protective screen in front of the fireplace and good plan to dispose of ashes and embers after an indoor fire has been put out are necessary to ensure the safety of everyone in the house.
“You want to put it in a noncombustible container, a metal bucket or metal trash can, and then five or six feet away from your house,” Jeffers said.
